Israel’s military admitted on Thursday that its forces had attacked a United Nations guesthouse in Gaza with tank fire last month, killing a staff member.
The attack in the Deir al Balah area on March 19 killed one U.N. staff member, a Bulgarian, and wounded six others. It prompted Secretary General António Guterres to withdraw a third of the U.N.’s international staff from Gaza out of safety concerns, at a time of dire need for the two million Palestinians living in the enclave.
It was the second time in about a week that Israel has admitted that its forces wrongfully opened fire on aid workers in the Gaza Strip, rare acknowledgments in a conflict that the United Nations says has proved deadlier for its workers than any other in its history.
Israel initially denied any involvement in the March 19 attack. Its mission to the U.N. said an initial investigation had “found no connection to the I.D.F.,” using an abbreviation for the Israel Defense Forces, and accused Hamas members of taking shelter at U.N. compounds.
But in a statement on Thursday, the Israeli military issued an apology to the United Nations.
“The I.D.F. regrets this serious incident and continues to conduct thorough review processes to draw operational lessons and evaluate additional measures to prevent such events in the future,” the statement said.
The body of a U.N. aid worker being taken out of an ambulance after the attack.Credit…Eyad Baba/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
